Truck to Camper Connection

granet88 · 05-05-2010, 11:14 AM

Am I right in thinking the truck charging system is supposed to provide power to my Surveyor through the 7-way connector? Does the TT battery have to be good and connected in order for the truck to power the TT with DC power? Does it charge the TT battery?
Thanks
Greg

08flagvlite · 05-05-2010, 11:47 AM

YES, the 7 pin connectorprovides 12v power to the camper, to charge the battery, and NO, the battery does not have to be good and connected, but you'll need to bypass the battery to provide 12v truck battery power to your camper's DC converter, which in turn powers the camper. HOWEVER; the converter , when powered from an external battery at the 7 pin- ANY battery is designed to charge the battery that is not there- so you'll probably run the risk of burning up your converter. I wouldn't recommend it!!

granet88 · 05-05-2010, 01:49 PM

So if the battery is not connected, no internal power to the camper unless I bypass it to the converter?
The reason I ask is I bought this camper last weekend and with the 7 way plugged in I had no internal power to the camper from the truck (I did have exterior running lights, brake lights. The battery was hooked up but is totally fried. I thought when the TT was hooked up to the truck I would be able to turn on the lights inside the TT.

flyrotor · 05-05-2010, 06:23 PM

If you have never had a trailer hooked up to your truck, then there is a possibility that the 7way plug is not hot, check with a tester, often they are equipped, but not active, chevy usually needs a fuse installed, some need the hot wire attached under your hood, worst case scenerio, the "fried" battery is actually shorted and is not allowing a flow of electricity, which in turn could blow the fuse previously mentioned

08flagvlite · 05-05-2010, 10:17 PM

My Dodge had the 7 pin factory installed on my truck brand new, but not hooked up for the trailer brake wires, or the power wire. I had to have this wired in at the camper dealer. basically, the 7 pin was only supplying lights for towing, not the whole setup. Yours may be this way, as well. Personally, I would find a battery somewhere to put in there. I know mine will not operate with a discharged battery. Almost all of the systems on these campers are 12 volts, even when plugged in to shore power. The converter changes the 120vAC over to 12vDC for the camper to operate, and all of this passes through the battery. On mine, once the battery gets below about 10.5 volts, things shut down, like the heater, and the lights get dim, and the TV/radio shuts off. Charge the battery,(or plug the camper in to the truck, and start it up) and all is well. Good luck, Randy

granet88 · 05-07-2010, 07:46 AM

Found the problem and flyrotor was correct. The fuse under the hood of my 2004 Dodge Hemi labeled "Trailer Battery" was blown. Replaced the 20A fuse and then put my meter on the 7 way and now have power. Thanks for the help on this everyone! I am new to TT camping and the Surveyor I bought had no manuals so I will probably be asking more questions.
Thanks again
Greg

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